Obama created national monuments at Bears Ears and Gold Butte, sites with huge significance to Native Americans.
Politics
Posted inArticles
U.S. House changes its rules to ease federal land transfers
The Western movement to transfer federal lands scores an early victory in the new Congress.
Posted inArticles
West Obsessed: Obama’s region-wide legacy
The staff of High Country News discuss the 44th president’s impact on the West’s land, energy and the environment.
Posted inArticles
Bears Ears a go — but here’s where Obama drew the line
The designation’s concessions are unlikely to appease ardent opponents.
Posted inArticles
A tribal coalition wins a monument for Bears Ears
While consensus supporting a designation grew, many Utah politicians argued that the president’s action is an abuse of power.
Posted inArticles
House Republicans want to ‘repeal and replace’ the ESA
After attempts to chip away at the law bill by bill, Utah Rep. Rob Bishop says he’d rather scrap the Endangered Species Act altogether.
Posted inArticles
How a federal land transfer could give California its key to secession
Fundamental changes in federal land ownership could become more politically feasible than ever.
Posted inArticles
What to do if you’re angry about ‘our new corporate overlords’
Regard your wallet as your daily voting booth.
Posted inDecember 26, 2016: Obama and the West
How Obama began to mend broken tribal relations
Native American leaders say Obama’s legacy is this: He listened.
Posted inDecember 26, 2016: Obama and the West
The ‘chickenization’ of beef
Obama’s efforts to help small-scale ranchers competing against Big Ag were blocked and ultimately fell short.
Posted inDecember 26, 2016: Obama and the West
Obama’s lasting legacies in the West
Under the 44th president, the West re-examined its relationship to energy and the climate.
Posted inDecember 26, 2016: Obama and the West
Obama’s mixed impact on endangered species
The administration delisted more species, but ultimately weakened the act itself.
Posted inArticles
Who is Ryan Zinke, really?
Trump’s Interior secretary pick set high standards for himself, but his lofty promises to rural voters are a problem.
Posted inArticles
Through the years: Here’s what to read on Obama’s presidency
High Country News stories show how Obama wrangled the West.
Posted inArticles
Trump’s Interior pick confounds conservationists
Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke evokes Roosevelt, but his record has veered away from environmental protection.
Posted inArticles
How Oregon predicted Trump’s partisan politics more than a decade ago
Timber communities gave way to right-wing nostalgia and a wave of progressive populism.
Posted inArticles
What Trump’s Interior Secretary pick could mean for tribes
Rep. Ryan Zinke has long listened to Montana tribes, but environmentalists say he tilts in favor of extractive industry.
Posted inArticles
Trump’s Cabinet choices reflect deep Koch influence
A rundown of the people with ties to ALEC, the Koch brothers and federal land transfer legislation.
Posted inDecember 12, 2016: How the Park Service is Failing Women
Can Trump undo Obama’s policies?
What the President-elect can — and can’t — do when it comes to water, coal and climate change.
Posted inDecember 12, 2016: How the Park Service is Failing Women
Plans falter for West Coast coal terminals
Coal companies look to Asia, but face port challenges.